Hot Smoked Salmon

I own a Cameron’s stovetop smoker. I’ve used it for all kinds of proteins, but my favorite one to smoke is salmon. One evening recently I was having a girlfriend over for dinner, so smoking a salmon fillet was an easy choice. Besides, it was an excuse for me to have salmon, because my husband won’t eat it.

The smoker does all the work so it’s really easy to do while your company is with you in the kitchen.

Sprinkle your choice of wood chips in the bottom of the smoker; I used maple chips today.

There’s no preparation necessary for the smoking process, other than to have a freshly rinsed filet of salmon, of uniform thickness, ideally. Mine was just over a pound. Then make sure it’s dry.

Place the salmon on the foil-wrapped pan and season. I simply used Old Bay seasoning because it works so well with fish.

There is a rack that comes with the smoker, but since the skin was on the bottom side of the salmon, I didn’t bother using it. The rack allows the smoke to go underneath whatever is on it.

Close the lid, then turn on the heat underneath to medium. Once the smoke starts coming out, turn the heat down; you don’t want the salmon to cook too fast because you’re cooking it and smoking it. I smoked this particular filet for 25 minutes, over the lowest heat setting.

The photo below shows the salmon after 15 minutes.

Once the smoking is over, slice and serve.

I really like mine smoky, but you can adjust the amount of smoke intensity by how much of the wood chips you use. Cameron’s has a huge variety of chips that you can buy, so you always have a choice.

As long as the heat is low, the protein won’t overcook. Hopefully from the photos you can tell that the salmon is tender and moist.

Because it’s fall, I served the smoked salmon with Brussels sprouts drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with coarse salt.

Hot-smoked salmon can be served any time of the year. With asparagus in the spring, with a green salad in summer, and in winter – with a mash, of course!